Returning from the war, Harold Mitchell opened a horticultural and spraying business in 1947. By 1950 the business was doing well and he, his wife Jeanette, and their two daughters moved into a large farmhouse on Duarte Road in San Gabriel, living and working there until 1959. Success dictated a move into their first commercial space that year where services, product lines and number of employees grew over the years as more professional landscapers discovered JHM Supply was not only a source for quality supplies - but, also a family business with personalized customer service.